Interesting Suggestions on How to Write an Outline for an Essay

Why is an outline important to write before writing an essay?

• The outline gives the writer time to carefully think about how to write the essay.
• The outline helps the writer to organize how the essay will be formatted and written.
• The outline allows the writer to see if the topic is worth writing about.
• The outline allows the writer to make the necessary revisions needed to the topic before beginning writing.
• The outline allows the writer to see if certain main points should be included or not included in the essay.
• The writer can use the outline as the blueprint or roadmap for how the essay will be written, what will be included in the essay, and how it will be formatted.

How to write an effective outline before writing the essay

• The outline should be short, straight to the point, and very brief.
• The headings, points, and titles in the outline should be no more than one sentence long.
• Each sentence of the outline should no more than 12 words long.
• Each main point in the outline should state the claim and purpose of each one that supports the topic.
• The outline should be arranged in the order that the paragraphs will be in the essay.
• With the outline, the writer can shift the main points around to better support the topic when writing the essay.

How to properly format and write the essay

• The writer should first identify the topic for the essay.
• The writer should identify the main points of the topic for the essay.
• The writer should identify sub points to support the main points of the topic.
• The outline for the essay should always be flexible and easily changeable.
• The writer should have the thesis statement written as well.

What is the general structure for an outline?

• The outline should have Roman numerals for each main part of the essay. (Introduction, Body, and Conclusion)
• The outline should have Upper Case Letters for each main point of the essay. (Normally, in the Body of the Outline.)
• The outline should have an Introduction, Body, and Conclusion.
• The outline should only be comprised of single sentences for each main point and main part of it.
• The thesis statement should be included in the Introduction of the outline.
• The outline should be very detailed, short, simple and straight to the point.